The World of Regina Chennault

Green Onion Buns 香葱包

There is this bakery/dim sum to-go place in Chinatown, San Francisco (name of store is 好望角）that sells big green onion buns for only 80 cents each (used to be 60 cents!). I love their baked green onion buns and will go there whenever we go to SF. Nowadays with 3 kids, and Richard hates driving to the city, we hardly go to SF anymore.

Recently I was craving for their green onion buns, so I decided to make it myself. I rested the buns overnight in the fridge, so I could have the baking done first thing next morning rather than late afternoon after I finished all my daily chores. Here’s what I found out: the buns turned out fluffier than normal because of slow rising time in the fridge. I love it!

In the mixing bowl mix well the first 5 ingredients then add in egg. With dough hook attached and starts kneading, slowing add water to form a dough. Add a little more water if necessary. Drop in butter and continue to knead the dough until it doesn’t stick to the bowl and pass the “membrane” test. (pull a small piece of the dough, use two hand to stretch the dough to a very thin layer– if the layer doesn’t tear then the dough is ready to proof. Otherwise, continue kneading until it passes the test).

Transfer the dough to a big bowl. Wrap the bowl and leave it on a warm spot to rest/proof until double in size. (To speed up the resting time a little you can sit the bowl on a moist hot towel, or sit the bowl on top of a pot of hot water).

Lightly knead the dough on a board a few times to punch out big air pockets trapped inside. Roll out to a 9×13 inch rectangle of 1/2 inch thickness. Spread cooking oil evenly all over, followed by salt, ground white pepper, five spice powder, and fried shallot (if using). Sprinkle green onion evenly then roll the dough up like a jelly roll/Swiss roll. Pinch to seal the edge. Cut rolls into 18 even pieces. Place each piece (cut side up) on greased glass pan, leaving a little space between each. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge overnight (see note below).

Let the chilled dough sit in room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking. Preheat oven to 375°F. Apply egg wash on the top of the buns and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds. Bake in preheated 375°f oven for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool on a rack.

Regina’s Note:

Dough resting time: for 2nd resting time, 45 minutes to 1 hour is adequate. But I found resting the dough in the fridge overnight yields a much fluffier texture to the buns.